Breaking: Australian LG Optimus G to have 8MP camera, availability in discussion with local operators

Well, I just got quite an interesting email from LG. It appears that the Australian variant of the LG Optimus G will have some different specifications to the international one. While for the majority of the specs we will have the same phone, it appears that the camera will be quite different.

Australia’s variant of the upcoming powerhouse LG Optimus G will not have a 13 megapixel camera. Yeah, I’m just as shocked as you are. The Optimus G will in fact be packing an industry standard 8 megapixel camera for anyone who purchases it down under. Why, I don’t know. However, LG must have their reasons. It seems quite absurd to have done this, unless of course LG is packing something extra into the phone that we aren’t being told of yet. For now, we only know that the camera will simply not have as high amount of megapixels – but then again, megapixels aren’t everything.

There are a couple other little tid-bits too:

• QMemo is Quick Memo in Australia.
• Dual Play is Dual Screen/Dual Rendering in Australia.

Besides for those spec changes, it appears that the Optimus G will be coming to our shores, but it all depends on what the local operators have to say. Local operators are our major retailers and carriers who pretty much make the call on which phones do and don’t come down under. For example, LG’s Optimus Vu didn’t make the cut.

Here’s what Ben Glimmerveen, Head of Mobile Communications, LG Australia has to say:

Commercial release of Optimus G in Australia is currently under review. LG will communicate availability in the Australian market on conclusion of discussions with local operators. Market specific versions of the phone will be unveiled in Korea in September and will expand to other key markets including Japan during the latter part of 2012.

Ben went on to say:

Optimus G has brought together some of the world’s best component makers to develop a high performance smartphone, that stands out in a sea of me-too devices – it’s a ground-breaking collaboration … We are confident that users will have a superior experience in every way with everything that we’re offering in the Optimus G series. It is far more than just a smartphone with the latest hardware technology – it offers so much more as great attention has also been given also to delivering great design aesthetics, a delightful user interface and state of the art feature usability

Well, the good news at least is that LG’s powerhouse device is on the horizon of coming to Australia. Besides for the camera downside, we’re still going to be getting our hands on one hell of a device. We’re being updated by LG about local availability and will keep you all updated as we hear it. Expect an official statement on the camera reduction tomorrow, too.

For now, here are the key specifications:

• 1.5GHz ARM Cortex-A16 Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro Processor Quad-Core with LTE
• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
• Network: 2G / 3G / LTE
• 4.7-inch WXGA True HD IPS⁺ (1280 x 768 pixels) / 15:9 ratio
• 32GB internal memory
• 2GB DDR RAM
• 8.0MP rear / 1.3MP front
• 2,100 mAh
• 131.9 x 68.9 x 8.45mm
• 145g
• Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, USB2.0 HS, A-GPS, MHL, DLNA, NFC

Well, it appears that us Aussies don’t get the best of the pick once again. Quite an interesting one here and I’d love to hear your opinion in the comments below.